As we look back and reflect over 2025 at Strathcarron Hospice, we would like to wish all our staff, volunteers and supporters a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Thank you for all your support to the Hospice this year.

 

JANUARY

In January we launched our Snowdrop campaign and over 500 real Christmas trees were collected for recycling, with donations towards the hospice helping to raise £10,000.

The Malcolm Group depot Grangemouth selected the Hospice as their charity of the year, launching their fundraising campaign with a generous donation of £7,500 from the Donald Malcolm Foundation and Carron Bathrooms marked a milestone of £100,000 worth of donations over 40 years through payroll giving.

The Thistles Stirling helped raise £4856 by hosting their annual Santa’s Grotto and Strathcarron was nominated as ‘Charity of the Year’ in the Go Forth Stirling Business Awards.

FEBRUARY

Stirling Council celebrated reaching a £250,000 milestone of payroll giving in aid of the hospice and our lymphoedema and lipoedema specialist Yolande was prestigiously appointed Co-Chair of the British Lymphoedema Society.

We joined 143 Hospices across the UK to mark Hospice Care Week, raising awareness of the incredible work we do within communities sharing our heartfelt patient stories.

The family of Gordon Coletti Haining generously fundraised to Pay For A Day in his memory and on Valentine’s Day friends Sue, Jude, Lesley, Alison and Clare marked their Pay For A Day in memory of their loved ones.

MARCH

Falkirk FC invited our mascot Ron along to attempt their cross bar challenge, and dedicated supporters and fundraisers the Strathcarron Singers paid a special visit to mark their Pay for A Day .

Stirling firm Merck celebrated their fantastic fundraising total of £19,000 with a Pay for a Day and adventurous dare devils took part in our Forth Wheel Abseil Challenge.

APRIL

Hundreds of people across our communities took part in a range of activities for the Big Birthday Tea and our new Denny charity shop welcomed customers in its new location. Runners also donned their trainers in aid of Strathcarron at the London marathon.

MAY

We marked Demystifying Death Week with a touring collection of items in memory of someone special and we danced and laughed the day away at our annual Ladies Who Lunch at the Westerwood.

Pupils, staff and parents at Larbert High hosted their annual fashion festival fundraising extravaganza for Strathcarron.

JUNE

Our Compassionate Neighbours befrienders were recognised with awards by CVS Falkirk and District for their volunteering and our Lymphoedema team marked Legs Matter Week with a community roadshow.

Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal paid her 38^th visit to the Hospice and we celebrated all that our volunteers do as part of Volunteers Week.

JULY

The Thistles Shopping Centre hosted a range of activities to fundraise for the Hospice and keep kids busy in the school holidays and we were visited by Cabinet Secretary Neil Gray MSP, as the Scottish Government approved a £5million boost in funding for Scottish Hospices.

Fundraisers took on the Kelpies Experience challenge and over £12,000 was raised by golfers at the 39^th Rotary Club of Bridge of Allan and Dunblane AM-AM Golf Tournament.

AUGUST

Solicitors across the area partnered with us on Make a Will Month, encouraging people to think about future planning and fundraiser 86-year-old Murdoch McGregor made the news for scaling Ben Nevis for Strathcarron.

SEPTEMBER

The Scottish Hospice Leadership Group held its quarterly meeting at the hospice joined by Scottish Labour Deputy Leader Dame Jackie Baillie MSP.

Our summer raffle winner was drawn by Marie from sponsor Halliday Homes and a group of intrepid explorers set off on a fundraising expedition to India and other groups took on a London to Paris cycle challenge.

The Papermill Café in the Bellfield Centre at Stirling Health and Care Village opened, with the social enterprise quickly growing in popularity amongst NHS staff and visitors.

OCTOBER

Our Compassionate Communities team received an award of £167, 547 from the National Lottery Community Fund which was then tabled as an Early Day Motion of recognition in the UK Parliament by MP Euan Stainbank. We also welcomed industry experts for our 13^th Strathcarron Conference in Edinburgh.

The last charity Kiltwalks of 2025 took place with our fundraisers celebrating raising thousands for the Hospice and hundreds of runners took part in our annual 10K raising an incredible £79,725.

Social media star Sophie Tea Art visited the Hospice and our Stenhousemuir shop, and staff attended an event with MSPs at the Scottish Parliament as part of Hospice Care Week talking about the work we do.

NOVEMBER

In-patient rooms were refurbished thanks to a donation from the Wolfson Foundation and we held our second fundraising Vintage Fair of the year.

Five boys from Denny who went viral for singing a festive carol on someone’s Ring doorbell camera visited the Hospice to sing for staff and patients, leading to international press attention for the Hospice.

The family of Alan James Brisbane fundraised to Pay for A Day in his memory and the Bellfield Papermill Café took part in a service of remembrance for veterans.

We worked with communities to remember loved ones who have died as part of ‘To Absent Friends Week’ and we released our podcast with award winning best-selling poet and author Donna Ashworth visited the hospice with best friend Lynne whose mum was cared for in the Hospice.

DECEMBER

Community lead nurse Dr Lyndsay Cardwell received an honorary appointment from the University of Stirling and Creative Homecare was rated ‘excellent’ for the third year in a row by the Care Inspectorate.

Ring UK launched a festive #RingAndSing campaign inspired by the Denny Boys which led to a £51,000 donation from the charity.